Young Adult Fiction for Adults discussion

Okay, so I was just over at the Hush Hush vs Fallen thread. It got me thinking Divergent vs Hunger Games vs Wither, Twilight vs Vampire Academy, Shiver vs... you get the idea. The threads talk a lot about what doesn't work, but what do you love? What makes it so you can't put the book down? What hooks you right off, makes you love the characters or root for the hero/heroine?

I think a great deal of it is the writing because there are only so many stories to tell in so many different ways. Sometimes something just turns me off but that is the difference in tastes in books. For instance I thought the writing in The Hunger Games was excellent but the entire concept turned me off. In Vampire Academy I was turned off by the "feeders" but the whole thing didn't work for me. Who knows why Twilight worked but I think there is some illusive magic built into it that can't be defined. It really helps if you, as the reader, "fall in love with the guy" and some authors can pull that off and some don't. I loved the writing in The Mortal Instruments so much that I have read them 4 times and LOVE the audios - they paint a picture that I can see come to life in my mind - it is almost a visual. My brother who does not read YA but read and loved them made an interesting statement. He said, "if all these characters just sat down around a table and talked to each other I would find it interesting because they have such a fun way of interacting whether they are irritated or just poking fun at each other." I sometimes think that is part of the charm of the Twilight books. I enjoyed the conversations between the characters as much as what happened. Just some thoughts.

Terry (Ter05 TwiMoms/ MundieMoms) wrote: "I think a great deal of it is the writing because there are only so many stories to tell in so many different ways. Sometimes something just turns me off but that is the difference in tastes in bo..."

Very good analysis. I guess for me part of it depends on whether I like the characters. In The Hunger Games the characters were all OK but like you the entire concept just didn't work for me. However, Twilight does have some special mysterious magic for me.

I read books like I listen to my relatives tell stories around the holiday dinner table -- I enter their world and let them lead. The ones that resonate with me have characters who lead me through an active exploration of themes that interest me (responsibility, survival, redemption, forgiveness, etc.). For example, The Hunger Games really worked for me. Katniss feels great responsibility for her family and it is both a burden and a curse that she cannot escape without losing respect for herself. Until the Games. Then she can escape (she, and everyone else, expects her to die). One brave act of sacrifice and she's done being her family's rock. Except, of course, that Collins ups the ante and she becomes her District's rock in the next installment.

The book explores how we pin expectations to certain people, whether they like it or not. This speaks to me, and raises the book above a normal survival story -- Katniss can only escape her burden of responsibility if she dies, and every time she lives, the burden grows exponentially. That feels like my real life as a mom and a writer -- the stakes only get bigger, the demands more intense, the consequences for failure more painful. Throwing off the burden is unthinkable because the repercussions (internal and external) would be devastating.

My, my. I'm cheerful this morning. Better go drink more coffee.

Simple: 1. flow of writing 2. nonwhinny characters/realistic characters 3. some form of romance somewhere hidden in the story 4. grabbing plot

Oh boy, there are SO MANY factors to consider. :)

The biggest, though, is whether the story and the character's actions come through organically. As in, X happens because the character did Y and believes Z. When things happen because the story needs it to happen (instead of the character doing it because of who they are), it pulls me out of the story.

The stories I have loved the most are when the characters' motivations are clear, and the resulting actions are understandable. Even if I don't agree with them, I can still understand where this person is coming from and so it's okay. If the motivations don't make sense, the story comes to a screeching halt for me.

This is too hard to pin down because each reader likes different things. I personally dislike most paranormal books and I go into them with that thinking so a paranormal book has to really blow me away for me to like it. Mostly it comes down to each readers personal preferences.

I'm a relationships type of girl. And I don't mean just the romantic type. If the relationships in the story aren't well-developed or built with reality in mind, the book won't hold water for me.

After relationships, it's the voice it's told in. I love a unique or at least well-defined voice. I want to remember who the MC is long after I'm done with the book. Too many MC's blend together for me so I don't remember which book/story they belong to.

Third on my list is a unique story-line or pov. If the story strikes me as creative or unique, I can put up with crappy relationships just to see where the story goes.

Characters I believe and connect to. Stories I care about.

Minimal moping and whining. Female characters who live solely for boys are SUDDEN DEATH for a book and me. I want strong and smart characters both male and female.

It almost always boils down to the characters. I've read fantasy I've loved and fantasy I've hated. Ditto dystopians. I typically don't do romances but then The Raging Quiet was suggested and that rose above the genre. There's probably not a genre I wouldn't read (aside from explicit sex stuff, virgin eyes being fearful). If I connect with a character and care about the character I will enjoy the book.

One of my petpeeves with novels is the characters. If they aren't realistic or just flat the entire duration of the book I get easily annoyed. Of course writing is a factor too. I don't want to read 300 pages of "he said" "she replied"

Terry (Ter05 TwiMoms/ MundieMoms) wrote: "I think a great deal of it is the writing because there are only so many stories to tell in so many different ways. Sometimes something just turns me off but that is the difference in tastes in bo..."

I totally agree with you on this. I also think writing and delivery rules over storyline

Mh.

Like Becca, it's the relationships that really matter to me. I love complicated, well-developped relationships between the characters.

I love to read about flawed characters who get more maturity, and, in the case of YA, finally come to the age of adulthood through their journey. I love this "ooh you've come so far" feeling, like with the themes that Kelly said : redemption, survival, responsibility, etc, are themes I really enjoy to read about.

About the "realistic characters" issue... I think we should define what we mean by that because what's realistic for me may not be realistic for you, maybe because of personal experiences or different opinions. Anyway, realistic characters for me are characters who deal with what happen to them the way they were designed to act by the author. Various characters will act differently to a same situation. It's when they begin to act out-of-character that they get unrealistic, not because we think that "people in real life would never do that". People in real life are capable of anything, but not everyone is capable of everything (if it makes sense).

I care about the writing, but honestly, if I don't like the storyline or the characters, I just can't get into the book. The prose may be excellent and beautiful, if the characters are a mess and the story is crap, it isn't worth it. I can't say that writing rules over storyline just like the storyline doesn't rule over writing. One can compensate for the other, but a really good book should be a combination of the two.

What I do like about writing is when the author can put a lot of meaning in very few words. It's hard to explain but I had a philosophy teacher who would always say "The thing is to say a lot of things with very few words. Every word matters, and every word must be chosen with care." or something like that. My english teachers were a lot like that : "Read between the lines, find the hidden meaning, tell me what this sentence means for X or Z, why is he saying that, what draws your attention on this paragraph, think think think". So yeah, I'll conclude with that : EVERY WORD MATTERS.

Whenever I'm writing, I always wonder "Why are you writing this, girl ? Why these words?"